The Adventures of Captain Kirkland
by Shelli Lunare
Summary: Arthur has to return to England, but mochi America wants one last bedtime story. So Arthur tells Alfred the tale of Captain Kirkland, the most notorious pirate who ever sailed the seas, and Captain Stella Lunare, the reason he put away his Jolly Rodger banner. (Rated T for possible futures as I'm posting as I write.)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Hetalia**

It was late in the evening on a beautiful summer day in colonial America and the young personification was being tucked in by his guardian.

"Mister Engwand? Are you sure you have to leave?"

The elder nation looked down at his young charge tenderly. "I've already told you Alfred, I don't want to, but they need me for some important business in London."

"But who will tell me all of those boring stories that put me to sleep?"

England's enormous eyebrow twitched. "Those 'boring' stories are _history_! And not all history is boring."

"The parts you tell me are."

Taking a deep breath to calm his frustrations, England sensed the little mochi watching him. He really didn't want to leave America, but in his absence, his French froggy neighbor had decided to cause trouble. 'Bloody France,' he thought irritably. 'First he tries to take over America, now he's causing problems in Europe!'

"Will you at least tell me one more bedtime story before you leave Mister Engwand? Please? Preferably not a boring one?" young Alfred pleaded, ocean-blue eyes shining.

_The ocean…._ _the sound of rigging flapping in the wind, the smell of the sea spray…. the color of her eyes…_

"Mister Engwand? Are you okay?"

A small hand on his forearm snapped Arthur out of his trance. "What? Oh, yes, I'm fine Alfred. I just remembered a story from history that I highly doubt you'll find _boring_."

"Really, really? Please tell it, please!" Alfred cried while bouncing about on his bed.

"Yes! I will. But you have to settle down first, or I won't start!" To which Alfred immediately stilled and crawled back under his covers. "Alright then," began Arthur, smoothing the sheets on the edge of the bed, "This is the story of pirate Captain Kirkland, terror of the high seas, and Stella Lunare, the pirate of pirates."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Everything from here on out is within a flashback/the story England's telling. So everything in the present tense actually already happened. This is a lot easier to show in the movies…. (I STILL don't own Hetalia)**

_"…..So many years ago, young Captain Kirkland sailed the seas, plundering, making it rich, and always on the run from His Majesty's Royal Navy….."_

An elegant hand brushed the wind blown, sandy blond hair out of the intense emerald eyes that looked out over the horizon. The S.S. Maiden's Blood had finally out run her pursuers, those Royal Navy dogs. They were no match for the Maiden's Blood's speed. She was a beautifully crafted ship, the swiftest to ever sail. But even if they _had_ been able to catch up, they had twenty cannons to contend with, not to mention the bloodthirsty crew, armed to the teeth with muskets, pistols, swords, and often multiple knives. Yes, there was really no chance of them being taken. Well, except for maybe, _her_…

'No. I mustn't think of her, because that's when she always comes,' Captain Arthur Kirkland sighed to himself as he stood at the helm. The last thing he needed was for _her_ to show up now, not when he had just escaped with his plunder. And what a glorious haul it was! They had just raided an artisan district of a coastal New Spanish town, an area famous for melting down native gold and reworking it into fashionable European-style pieces, some of them with imported gems. Despite all of this finery, the one piece that caught the captain's eye was a delicate silver locket, oval in shape, set with a fiery opal that shone all of the colors of the rainbow. Out of eight chests full of jewels and money, he only desired this simple necklace. The rest he left to his crew to divvy up among themselves.

"CAPTAIN! SHIP OFF THE PORT BOW!" cried the lad in the crow's nest. Arthur pulled his spyglass from his pocket and peered through it in the indicated direction. It was a nice ship, about the same size as the one he's on. Two, four, eight cannons on this side, probably sixteen in all. And then the name. _The S.S. Graceful Charity_. "Bullocks." A quick double check of the flag confirmed it. The Jolly Roger on a royal purple field. "Bloody hell!" he shouted as he slammed his fist down on the gunwale. How the hell had she managed to find him this time? The last time they had met, they were on the Ivory Coast. It was hard to believe, but here she was in the West Indies!

The crew was looking to him for orders. Just as the first mate opened his mouth to speak, Arthur shouted out "Raise the white flag and prepare to be boarded! Same proceedings as lat time, ya hear?" This was met with a resounding chorus of "Aye, aye Captain!" and a smattering of salutes as everyone manned their stations.

There were some mutterings amongst the men as they worked, and he knew that it was full of complaints and rumors about why they did this every time the Graceful Charity caught up to them. The one time the crew had brought it up to him he had replied "Well, one time, before any of you were with me, except for Sammy here (the first mate), I tried to out run her. I only tried it once, for once was enough." And that's all that he would say on the matter. All Old Sam would add was that although the Maiden's Blood was the fastest ship to sail, she was only matched by her sister ship, the Graceful Charity. They were two sides of a coin, good and evil twins, constantly maintaining a semblance of balance. A couple of the men thought that because the ships were twins, they could sense where one another were located, in that creepy way some sets of twins can. Utter nonsense of course, but it made for an interesting idea.

In truth, the flight from the light ship was so long and arduous that it had killed most of the crew, with no time to stop for food or fresh water, or get rid of the dead. When they had been caught up to, their sails were so torn up that they had to be towed into a pirate-friendly port. Arthur shuddered at the thought. He still hasn't gotten over the shame and embarrassment of the incident. Especially after finding out that the captain of this formidable ship was a woman. After gathering a makeshift crew, most of who were replaced at the next stop, Arthur never returned to that particular port. Granted, Arthur was a very green captain at the time, only having been captain for three weeks at the time, he had learned his lesson.

Currently the two ships were pulling along side of each other. Arthur turned to face his main deck just as a figure swung over from the other ship on a rope and landed on his. The men looked wary, but refrained from drawing their weapons. Arthur threw his shoulders back and descended the stairs to the main deck. "Greetings Captain Lunare. Would you care to discuss our business within my quarters?"

The woman who had just boarded looked up. "Greetings to you as well, Captain Kirkland. Your quarters would do nicely for our meeting." And with a grand sweeping gesture, Arthur escorted the lady captain to his cabin. For all of his ruthlessness in battle, let it never be said that Captain Arthur Kirkland wasn't a gentleman when it came to dealing with women.


End file.
